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Dobro® Necks

My first Dobro® was a metal bodied, round neck model. I bought it thinking that it would make the sound I had heard on Bluegrass records. Of course I was wrong!

If you want the sound as made popular by Buck Graves, Mike Auldridge and Jerry Douglas, then you must get a square-neck, wood bodied model. I acquired my first squareneck Dobro® from guitar maker Kevin Parsons. It is from the 1970s (we think) and has a purple sunburst finish. As soon as I played the first notes I knew that this was the sound I had been looking for.

The guitar was strung too lightly and really benefitted from having a heavier guage set of strings fitted.

It is possible to make a sort of Dobro using and old Spanish guitar. It won't make the same sound but it will get you started with the playing techniquies. Simply take all the strings off and replace the nut with a higher one (about 1/2 inch). You will need to cut new grooves for the strings. An inexpensive set of minifiles will help here.

The less adventurous may be able to locate an adaptor made for this purpose. They used to come with a set of unusable fingerpicks and were called a ‘Hawaiian Guitar Conversion Kit’. I would not advise using a heavy string set on such a light instrument.

Contact info - call 07852 876 666